I heard tonight that the last two candidates withdrew from the race at the same time leaving OPS with no immediate candidates to choose from. What is scaring candidates off? What are their biggest tasks that they are going to face after being appointed?

Omababe wrote:My guess is the market is more competitive and they found greener pastures to pursue. Perhaps some of their current districts offered to pay them to stay maybe?

Both of these are likely. Honestly, if you were really good at that job, and an offer came in from a school district with serious structural issues, an obstructionist teachers union, a school board who took 127 votes to determine who got to chair the board, and thinks nothing is odd about that, and when a school board member wanted compensation data, was told by the admin bureaucracy that he was not entitled to it; would you even apply? I would round file that before it got to room temperature.

During many years the board did not properly oversight the school administration, that´s why John Mackiel left with $1M in compensation while student achievement was beyond depressing. Now the Board is in the completely other side, which causes frequent clashes between BoE and superintendent.

I don't think it´s a matter of money. OPS is three times the size of their original districts and they salary here is quite high comparing to other similar size school districts. Mumin is well appreciated in his district, while Gausman not so much due to budget cuts and increase in class sizes. However, in my opinion, the message it´s pretty clear: "We don´t want to work with a BoE that is going to convert each decision into a fight", and the cause it´s the vast differences inside the board.

I do not want a board that votes unanimously 100% of the times, disagreement is good, but at this moment the board has converted the district decision making process in a war of trenches.

"The uncertainty, that's what it was," Mumin later said to the Eagle. "Here in Reading, there's no uncertainty. We work together. It's not an atmosphere of aggression or political grandstanding, and that's important to me."

"The uncertainty, that's what it was," Mumin later said to the Eagle. "Here in Reading, there's no uncertainty. We work together. It's not an atmosphere of aggression or political grandstanding, and that's important to me."

In his email, Mumin said he didn't believe OPS leaders "have the best interest of kids in their actions."

Except, of course, real change and a meaningful effort to resolve their bickering and get behind a standard and expectation of excellence.

The people I feel bad for the most is the Teachers and kiddos. This is the leadership they have?

Yep. We really need a "Red Wedding" of sorts. We need to replace the whole school board and the admin staff that can't change to a paradigm of "students first" and "We are here to create functional adult citizens, not here to appease teachers unions and community activists". You don't want to create a uniform discipline code because you are afraid of Ernie Chambers? You need to go somewhere else. You don't want to teach kids about birth control and sexuality as part of being a mature and responsible adult? Cool, go somewhere else. You are afraid to look some crazy A hole from the community who is bleeping wrong on a subject and politely, but clearly tell them so, you lack the spine to protect the kids and help them become functional adults.

Omaha Public Schools Superintendent Mark Evans is slated to receive a 2.5 percent pay raise and two extra weeks of vacation in exchange for agreeing to lead the district for an additional year.

This is a joke ---Why not just tell him to finish with the contract terms he was walking away from.

They could have and he could have left. He did what was proper in turnover in notice and moving forward with his retirement with plenty of advanced notice.

He didn't screw up the process. The board did. They needed him much more than he needed the position that he had already announced he was leaving. Why should he stay on for no added compensation

Nope OPS didn't need him. Also I thought he resigned early to take care of elderly parents....

If OPS didn't need him then why did they come crawling to him to get him to stay around another year

Crawling? They supposedly had 12 people apply to be the one year interim and according to them, they didn't even look at the resumes of those. There was a force in play and it wasn't students, parents or teachers.

Omaha Public Schools Superintendent Mark Evans is slated to receive a 2.5 percent pay raise and two extra weeks of vacation in exchange for agreeing to lead the district for an additional year.

This is a joke ---Why not just tell him to finish with the contract terms he was walking away from.

They could have and he could have left. He did what was proper in turnover in notice and moving forward with his retirement with plenty of advanced notice.

He didn't screw up the process. The board did. They needed him much more than he needed the position that he had already announced he was leaving. Why should he stay on for no added compensation

Nope OPS didn't need him. Also I thought he resigned early to take care of elderly parents....

If OPS didn't need him then why did they come crawling to him to get him to stay around another year

Crawling? They supposedly had 12 people apply to be the one year interim and according to them, they didn't even look at the resumes of those. There was a force in play and it wasn't students, parents or teachers.

Yes crawling, When they didn't do their job to fill the position with candidates in the pool.... for whatever reason they couldn't... They were left holding a sticking bag of stuff and went calling back to him to get another year. I imaging that they couldn't agree on an short term candidate just like they couldn't agree on a full time replacement and this crawl was their way our.

It came out at the board meeting that they didn't look at the temp candidates -- like i said there was a force outside the board controlling who they selected.

"The subcommittee was supposed to review interim superintendent candidates and did receive applications from “very, very high-quality candidates,” he said.“I applaud those who applied because it says something about their character to apply in this situation,” Perlman said."

from another article

Two board members and several community members spoke against the decision, saying they fear the board continues to make decisions out of the public's eye. The opposing board members also said they were disappointed that full consideration wasn't given to those who applied as an interim superintendent.

"This ... again puts us in a position where the public distrusts us and everything we say," board member Shavonna Holman said. "It's incredibly unfair to completely overlook the applicants who took their time to apply for this position."

These people live in a world of dysfunctional geeks and ding bats. In the business world that I live in........about the 3rd time some fool sends me a business related text I know that I am dealing with a fool. Why in the name of sensibility and reason would anyone waste time sending texts when they could just as easy call me and say a lot more? Texting is a primitive way of communication at best. What it comes down to is do you want to conduct business or fool around sending one liner stupid texts and e-mails? A bunch of grown adults sitting around sending texts back and forth at night don't impress me much.

The plan, as of April, was only 65 percent funded, down from 85 percent funded a decade ago, and far behind the funding level of the state teachers’ pension fund, which is now 90 percent funded.

The bottom line: To begin improving the funding level, OPS needs to come up with an extra $15.5 million in its next budget, according to state officials. That would bring the plan in compliance with new get-tough state regulations intended to keep pension plans adequately funded.

The plan, as of April, was only 65 percent funded, down from 85 percent funded a decade ago, and far behind the funding level of the state teachers’ pension fund, which is now 90 percent funded.

The bottom line: To begin improving the funding level, OPS needs to come up with an extra $15.5 million in its next budget, according to state officials. That would bring the plan in compliance with new get-tough state regulations intended to keep pension plans adequately funded.

I was told by someone in the know tonight that the previous controller of the investments was a little to close to the investment advisement panel and took their advice instead of the better investments.

You know reading about OPS really make's my blood boil sometime's. How can a large school District like Omaha be so mismanaged? Just reading today they are thinking about asking the voter's for another $300 Million bond issue. I think I will be voting no on the bond issue because there Pension system is a mess and need's to get in order before I allow them to use $300 Million dollar's. It's concern's me that they don't seem to care about the tax payer's one bit let alone the student's education.

OmahaFan wrote:You know reading about OPS really make's my blood boil sometime's. How can a large school District like Omaha be so mismanaged? Just reading today they are thinking about asking the voter's for another $300 Million bond issue. I think I will be voting no on the bond issue because there Pension system is a mess and need's to get in order before I allow them to use $300 Million dollar's. It's concern's me that they don't seem to care about the tax payer's one bit let alone the student's education.

I think the purpose of the second issues is for more schools and modernization of older schools like the previous Bond vote. If I remember correctly they decide to go for two bond issues to make it easier for voters to swallow.

Yeah it is about school update's and what not and building apparently 2 new high school's and some new schools. Apparently there is quite the amount of overcrowding happening. Seem's like Elkhorn and Omaha are overcrowding.

OmahaFan wrote:Apparently there is quite the amount of overcrowding happening.

I know that Norris Middle and Marrs Magnet are overflowing. Marrs is I think the largest middle school population in the metro. Norris has several portables but Marrs is landlocked and doesn't have room to add any portables.

Well I guess that's good the schools are full it mean's Nebraska and Omaha have quite a bit of youth for future generation's to come. Hopefully they will stay here though I know half won't sadly. Omaha need's to make a plan to keep these young people here and contribute locally.

OmahaFan wrote:Well I guess that's good the schools are full it mean's Nebraska and Omaha have quite a bit of youth for future generation's to come. Hopefully they will stay here though I know half won't sadly. Omaha need's to make a plan to keep these young people here and contribute locally.

Start it with a competent OPS that teaches students and holds all stakeholders to account. Expand the career center concept to include more programs like the IBEW program at Benson where kids can get their course work for the apprenticeship out of the way in HS. Run a cost effective school system and keep taxes down. Three easy things to write down, but hard to do. Not impossible to do, just hard. Anything worthwhile usually is.